When you’re thinking about legendary guitar riffs that open a song, there aren’t many better than Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser’s opening to “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult.
The song first released on May 21, 1976. However, that version wasn’t the one that turned it into a radio hit and helped it climb the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
On July 31, 1976, the band — featuring Eric Bloom, Albert Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, Allen Lanier, and Roeser, who played lead guitar and sang lead vocals — released the radio edit of the song. The updated version shortened the extended guitar solo, cutting the track from five minutes and eight seconds to three minutes and 45 seconds.
Rolling Stone named it the Song of the Year for 1976 and later included it on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song also earned a spot on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Why “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” Sparked Backlash
Interestingly, the song drew significant backlash after its 1976 release because many listeners misinterpreted its lyrics.
Many believed the song promoted suicide due to its dark themes, which surprised Dharma. He repeatedly explained that he wrote it as an uplifting love story about surviving physical death and reuniting in the afterlife.
“It’s a love story that transcends the death of one of the partners and then they get back together again in another plane,” Dharma said. “It’s not about suicide, although I can see how people can think that, but that’s not where it’s at. It just imagines that there is an afterlife and that lovers will be reunited… Dying is a part of life, so don’t fear it, just know that it’s there for everybody and it just happens at different times.”
How Long Did the Song Take to Write?
Dharma revealed the song “fell off his fingers,” and he quickly realized he had created something special. He said it took about six weeks to finish writing the song.
“It was one of those things that just sort of fell off my fingers,” Dharma explained. “And I knew I had something there because I liked it the first time I heard it. I was like, ‘Wow!’ The first two lines of the lyric, again, just sort of came from my head rather unbidden. Then the idea of the song took shape, but it took about six weeks to write the rest of it.”
Related: 1999 Rock Song Ranked the ‘Hardest Song to Play on Drums’
This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Jul 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.